Women's History Resource Site

King's College History Department

Book Review

Rose, Elliot. A Razor for a Goat. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962.

Elliot Rose’s book, A Razor for a Goat, regarding the subject of the notorious European Witch Hunts, is largely outdated, but very useful. In considering the religious and political implications pervading this phenomenon, it is imperative that the individuals researching these events remain as objective as possible. Rose applies a unique declaration within his introduction that relieves some tension for the serious, skeptical reader. He relays his spiritual faith as being Anglican and accordingly where his bias lies. He admits his disbelief in the Devil as well as magical powers. This bold gesture extends an empirical element of trust and reminds the reader to proceed with caution in addressing all researched works. It is important to recognize this initiative because human beings are often dictated by emotion more so than reason as the witch hunts so clearly demonstrate.

Elliot Rose is a lecturer at the University of Toronto in the Department of History, a Trinity College, Cambridge graduate and an author. Elliot is a noted scholar and co-author of an unrelated work entitled, The Modern Era. A Razor for a Goat, was originally published in 1962. Therefore, the renewed enthusiasm in occultism experienced in the mid to late 1960’s did not influence this book’s empirical attitude. 

Rose identifies the four major schools of thought concerning the witch-hunts but more specifically, their attitudes towards the connection between witchcraft and diabolism. The author is attempting to convey the reality behind witchcraft as an actual religion but does not feign knowledge as to whether it was an anti-Christian sect or a pagan religion of some kind. Rose makes an exceptional effort to present a well-rounded picture of the varied possibilities without displaying any naïve, romantic illusions. He ends up constantly referring to the beliefs of the two most legitimate and popular of the four groups at the time of this book’s publication, the Murrayite and the Anti-Sadducee. 

Brian Levack’s book, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, provides the reader with a few paragraphs dealing with the Christian demonization of pagan gods (such as Pan, Dianus and Cernunnos) while Rose dedicates chapters to this. It is a blanket statement that Levack inserts regarding the Christian Church’s deviant intentions while Rose explores other possibilities. Elliot Rose asserts that it is extremely difficult to ascertain what potential witches actually believed their god’s physical identity to be. Their god could have been based on Satan, have been Satan, or, if it wasn’t, than the cult would have regarded the Christians’ representations of Satan in their churches as a tribute to their god. While this information is only probable, I believe it is worth noting as an option.

The Murrayite contention, of which is the most popular at the time of this book’s release in America, declares that witches met at gatherings to worship old pagan gods and that the worship outdated Christianity and was in no way a mockery of it. Evidence regarding fertility cults who wore amulets around their necks has placed a nugget of evidence in the Murrayite interpretation. Dianus is a Roman fertility goddess and the lead suspect in the Murrayite view. Rose believes that the Murrayite group’s denial of any orgy activity in these sessions hurts its argument simply because a great deal of primitive religions have contained such activities. He believes that this defensive assertion is unnecessary to the Murrayite argument, especially in opposition of the Anti-Sadducee theory. Rose justly pokes holes in the Murrayite point of view throughout this book.

The Anti-Sadducee group very often disagrees with the Murrayite viewpoint and tends to be more sensational. The Anti-Sadducee takes the supernatural acts of alleged witches as fact without exploring other possibilities. It also entertains these gatherings as a devil-worshipping counter-culture against the dominant political and religious influence of Christianity. Rose describes the remaining two schools of thought (the Bluff & the Knowing party) as instinctive reactions to scattered bits of factual information that undermine people’s desire for thrilling superstition beside comforting rationalism. These two parties do not base their schools on any particular argument, which puts them at a disadvantage. The Bluff school safely attributes the entire witch-hunting phenomenon to delusional thinking and mass hysteria in the Middle Ages. Some Bluff school members even believe that witchcraft practices never took place at all in the past. The Knowing school believes in passed down, secret knowledge and focuses on the Black Masses or Sabbats. 

Rose belittles the role of the ointment that was applied to the bodies of supposed witches before a gathering. He says that the use of mandrake and other such roots should be left in the hands of folklore specialists. When compiling a book based on the potential gatherings of alleged witches, sorcerers or pagans and the backlash or punishment thereof; it seems frivolous to ignore hallucinogenic plants. Historians report the use of hallucinogenic fungi and roots by the classic shaman in multiple cultures. Even today, these practices persist. The peyote plant is considered sacramental to Native Americans and is likewise legal for them to use in over twenty states. When we are speaking of people under the belief of taking flight, how can we ignore the possible role of hallucinogens for the purpose of this book? 

Elliot Rose believes that the four schools of thought have to learn to ask the right questions to pursue their hypotheses under the context of history. He suggests that the schools should begin with established fact and then work their way up to the unknown. Therefore, for Rose, it is a question of tactfulness that should be pursued to obtain a solid theory. There are so many missing puzzle pieces to this phenomenon, it seems naïve to deny pursuit of probable theories rather than dismiss them as unsubstantial. The city of Troy was mere fiction until its ruins were discovered. We should not dismiss these alleged gatherings as speculation until we prove there weren’t any. 

URL: http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/wrevrose.html Written by Peter Kizis Last Revision: 12 November 2001 Copyright © MM Prof. Pavlac's Women's History Site